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Domestic Furnishings

Washboards, armchairs, lamps, and pots and pans may not seem to be museum pieces. But they are invaluable evidence of how most people lived day to day, last week or three centuries ago. The Museum's collections of domestic furnishings comprise more than 40,000 artifacts from American households. Large and small, they include four houses, roughly 800 pieces of furniture, fireplace equipment, spinning wheels, ceramics and glass, family portraits, and much more.

The Arthur and Edna Greenwood Collection contains more than 2,000 objects from New England households from colonial times to mid-1800s. From kitchens of the past, the collections hold some 3,300 artifacts, ranging from refrigerators to spatulas. The lighting devices alone number roughly 3,000 lamps, candleholders, and lanterns.

The production and exchange of ceramics, metalwork, textiles, and other crafts were part of the economies of the Southwest and Mesoamerica centuries before the arrival of Africans, Spaniards, and other Europeans in the Americas. While central Mexico was almost immediately connected to the global economy after the Spanish conquest in the early 1520s, New Mexico and other frontier areas remained isolated and relatively self-sufficient until the mid-1800s. Once New Mexico was incorporated into the United States however, wagon trains and then railroads brought in new English-speaking residents and tourists, unsettling the economies of the established Hispano and Pueblo communities. By the early 20th century, a new livelihood emerged for local artisans—the creation of crafts for the tourist market. The tourist market demanded products that were as much about stereotypes as they were about authenticity. This Spanish Colonial Revival chair was made by Hipólito Sisneros in 1945 while he was a student at the Taos Vocational Educational School. Using a decorative technique called chip-carving, Sisneros crafted this chair in the style of New Mexican furniture from the early 1800s. After the 1930s, many Hispanics and Native Americans were enrolled in craft schools like this in an attempt by the state of New Mexico to support local craft cooperatives that targeted Anglo-American consumers.

This lithograph illustrates the chaos and conflict engulfing northern Mexico during the years of the Mexican-American War from 1846-1848. In these years the United States organized an Army of Occupation, initially led by General Zachary Taylor, to capture cities like Monterrey in preparation for a later assault on the Mexican heartland. The figure on horseback is a Mexican guerilla fighter. These skilled horsemen, often doubling as both patriots and bandits, had an established role in Mexican military tradition, and were actively recruited to combat the U.S. invaders. To understand his limited appeal to the Mexican public, note that the dead figures over whom the guerrillero is triumphantly galloping appear to be Mexican citizens, not invading American soldiers.

This print depicts American forces attacking the fortress palace of Chapultepec on Sept. 13th, 1847. General Winfield Scott, in the lower left on a white horse, led the southern division of the U.S. Army that successfully captured Mexico City during the Mexican American War. The outcome of American victory was the loss of Mexico's northern territories, from California to New Mexico, by the terms set in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. It should be noted that the two countries ratified different versions of the same peace treaty, with the United States ultimately eliminating provisions for honoring the land titles of its newly absorbed Mexican citizens. Despite notable opposition to the war from Americans like Abraham Lincoln, John Quincy Adams, and Henry David Thoreau, the Mexican-American War proved hugely popular. The United States' victory boosted American patriotism and the country's belief in Manifest Destiny.

This large chromolithograph was first distributed in 1848 by Nathaniel Currier of Currier and Ives, who served as the "sole agent." The lithographers, Sarony & Major of New York (1846-1857) copied it from a painting by "Walker." Unfortunately, the current location of original painting is unknown, however, when the print was made the original painting was owned by a Captain B. S. Roberts of the Mounted Rifles. The original artist has previously been attributed to William Aiken Walker as well as to Henry A. Walke. William Aiken Walker (ca 1838-1921) of Charleston did indeed do work for Currier and Ives, though not until the 1880's and he would have only have been only 10 years old when this print was copyrighted. Henry Walke (1808/9-1896) was a naval combat artist during the Mexican American War who also worked with Sarony & Major and is best known for his Naval Portfolio.

Most likely the original painting was done by James Walker (1819-1889) who created the "Battle of Chapultepec" 1857-1862 for the U.S. Capitol. This image differs from the painting commissioned for the U. S. Capitol by depicting the troops in regimented battle lines with General Scott in a more prominent position in the foreground. James Walker was living in Mexico City at the outbreak of the Mexican War and joined the American forces as an interpreter. He was attached to General Worth's staff and was present at the battles of Contreras, Churubusco, and Chapultepec. The original painting's owner, Captain Roberts was assigned General Winfield Scott to assist Walker with recreating the details of the battle of Chapultepec. When the painting was complete, Roberts purchased the painting. By 1848, James Walker had returned to New York and had a studio in New York City in the same neighborhood as the print's distributor Nathaniel Currier as well as the lithographer's Napoleon Sarony and Henry B. Major.

This popular lithograph was one of several published to visually document the war while engaging the imagination of the public. Created prior to photography, these prints were meant to inform the public, while generally eliminating the portrayal of the more gory details. Historians have been able to use at least some prints of the Mexican War for study and to corroborate with the traditional literary forms of documentation. As an eyewitness, Walker could claim accuracy of detail within the narrative in his painting. The battle is presented in the grand, historic, heroic style with the brutality of war not portrayed. The print depiction is quite large for a chromo of the period. In creating the chromolithographic interpretation of the painting, Sarony & Major used at least four large stones to produce the print "in colours," making the most of their use of color. They also defined each figure with precision by outlining each in black. This print was considered by expert/collector Harry T. Peters as one of the finest ever produced by Sarony & Major.